Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Five Years

After five years tracking Scientology's excesses, time to look back on some of the highlights – and signal a change of direction.

Help yourself to caek

Five years already?I'd like to say there was a plan, but no: at the beginning it was mainly about publishing stories that the mainstream media wouldn't touch.Then it developed a life of its own: the Paris trial, Xenophon's campaign in Australia and a string of US lawsuits. The problem wasn't digging up the stories, but finding the time to do them.

In recent months however, regular readers may have noticed a slacking-off in production.

This is partly due to a change in working hours that has left me with less free time; but also because shorter news items now go straight to Tony Ortega atThe Underground Bunker.

The Bunker is the number one site in the field, giving daily, in-depth coverage of Scientology's inimitable brand of brutalist absurdity. So it makes sense to focus news coverage there.

Since it's roughly five years to the day that the site started, now seems a good time to look back on some of the highlights.

Abuse at the top

Infinite Complacency launched on March 16, 2009, although many of the dozen or so articles that opened the site had been written months earlier.1

Laura DeCrescenzo

The opening series “Violence and Abuse in the Sea Org” was built around what were then relatively little-known allegations about the violence at the top of the movement – in particular the beatings handed out by Scientology leader, David Miscavige.2

It is a measure of how far the scene has moved in the past five years that a lot of this material – even Miscavige's talent for violence – is old hat now. Nevertheless, the shocking details of life in the Sea Org, the movement’s elite cadre, are as true as they ever were. If anything, the situation has deteriorated.

That perhaps explains why one post from that first series, “Abuse in the Sea Org”, is still one of the top ten most read items here. Not bad considering that back in the early days the site had a readership of two men and dog (and I'm pretty sure the dog was OSA).

Those early posts also covered the lawsuits launched by former Sea Org members Claire and Marc Headley against the movement in January of 2009.

Infinite Complacency followed their battle to the bitter end in July 2012, when a U.S. appeals court threw out their cases, folding in the face of Scientology's First Amendment defence.3

A large part of Infinite Complacency's content has been taken up with coverage of the Paris fraud trial, a legal battle that for all intents and purposesended last year in France's top court.5

Devoting so much coverage to the case was a bit of a gamble. The prosecution case could easily have crumbled away, like several others before it.

This time around however, the stakes were higher.

The movement itself, not just senior members, were on trial for fraud, and there was even talk that Scientology might be be shut down in France if convicted.

In a case that yielded as much drama outside the courtroom as inside, Scientology was eventually convicted of fraud: at the original trial in 2009, on appeal in 2011 and at the Cour de Cassation last year.6

And that conviction puts it one step closer to the guillotine: under French law a second conviction could be enough to get it banned.

Some aspects of the original trial deserve more attention than they have ever received.

Another highlight was a masterful performance from Olivier Morice, the lawyer for the one of the plaintiffs at the original trial, who also represented counter-cult group UNADFI.

Morice made short work of two experts the defence had summoned to endorse the movement's e-meter, a device used in Scientology's therapy.

When he confronted them with some of L. Ron Hubbard's more outlandish claims for the e-meter,they were forced to agree that Scientology’s founder had been talking nonsense.

Morice's role in the trial was crucial because, of all the lawyers present, he knew better than any exactly how Scientology operates.

Disconnection

Limited resources meant that most of the coverage at Infinite Complacency has been restricted to court reporting and Web-based journalism, and research trips have been rare. But a 2007 trip to California yielded a wealth of material.

Disconnection is one of the most destructive aspects of Scientology. The movement's “ethics officers” force its members to break off all contact with loved ones deemed enemies of the movement – on pain of being cast out themselves.

Back in March 2007, many former Scientologists were still wary of going public with their stories. But not Mike Henderson.

He was happy to go on the record with details of the abuse he had experienced both as a paying member and then as a part of the Sea Org.

He was even more anxious to introduce me to his father.

Allan Henderson was already in hospital, fighting a losing battle against stomach cancer. But despite the debilitating effects of his illness and the chemotherapy, he was determined to get his story on the record.

He explained how when he quit the movement in 2001 after nearly three decades inside, he had been declared suppressive.

At a stroke, that cut him off from any contact with his first wife, his two sons and four daughters – Mike included – and his 22 grandchildren. They all cut off any communication with him, as per Scientology policy.

It was only after Mike quit Scientology himself that he reconciled with his father, and he has spoken movingly of the guilt he felt for how he behaved while still inside.

During the final months of his father's life, Mike did everything he could to get his siblings to heal the rift before it was too late – but they would not budge.

Allan Henderson died on June 4, 2007. He never got to see the rest of his family. Now it is Mike’s turn to feel alone on the outside, for none of them will speak to him either.

Despite Scientology's repeated denials that it imposes disconnection on any of its members, this is a story that has been played out many times.7 For another egregious example of this policy, seelast week’s report by Joe Childs over at The Tampa Bay Times.

Xenophon's campaign

Nick Xenophon

In November 2009, news broke of a new front in the battle to expose Scientology.

In Australia, Senator Nick Xenonphon, an independent, gave adevastating speech to the chamber on November 17, launching a one-man campaign against abuses inside the movement.

Citing letters he had received from former members, he listed a jaw-dropping litany of allegations against Scientology – and asked why such an organisation should enjoy tax exemption.

In the letters, former members described how they had been victims of – and sometimes party to – the group's hard-sell tactics: one former member told he had repeatedly had to kick sales teams out of his house in the small hours of the morning.

They explained how women on staff were put under relentless pressure to have abortions so as to continue what was considered to be their far more important work with Scientology.

And more than one of Xenophon's correspondents confessed to having helped cover up crimes – including child abuse – to keep the movement out of trouble.

Former staffers spoke of the abusive environment at Scientology centres, and blatant medical neglect: some employees with cancer received no palliative care, but just stayed on post until they were too weak to work.

The testimony of one former executive, Aaron Saxton, was particularly shocking: during his time in the Sea Org, in both Australia and the United States, he had ruthlessly enforced many of the harshest rules in Scientology.

He admitted to having pressured staffers into having abortions so they could stay on post; and to having enforced disconnection orders on members who had fallen from grace. He also helped track down and retrieve runaways.

What made Saxton's testimony more credible was his willingness to accept responsibility for what he himself had done while inside. But he was not just one of the abusers: he too was a victim.

Since Xenophon was speaking in Senate, with the legal protection that afforded him, he could air these accusations in full. And by placing the letters into the Senate archives, he put vital testimonyinto the public domain.

This is a collection that deserves careful scrutiny not just because of what it reveals about Scientology's operations in Australia, but mirrors the abuse that goes on elsewhere in the world: in Europe, in the United States – wherever the movement operates.

In 2013 a new bill passed into law that established a public benefit for charities in Australia seeking tax exemption, a hurdle that most critics of Scientology doubt it could clear.

Recent reports however suggest the new law could be under threat from the recently elected government – so that battle is far from over.8

“Straight talk is good business,” Andrews and Kurth tell visitors to their website.

On this occasion however, they never actually got around to picking up the phone. Like the man said:

Help yourself to caek.

---

1 While the site launched on March 16, 2009, many of the early pieces were ready to go by late December, 2008, as you'll see from some of the dates on the initial posts in the series.

2 The first 14 posts all went out in the space of two-weeks (“Introduction” to “The Story So Far”). A few months later, on June 21, the St Petersburg Times (now the Tamba Times) took the story of Miscavige's violence mainstream in their Pulitzer-nominated series,The Truth Rundown.

3 For more on the failings of the appeal court ruling against the Headleys, seemy write-up of the Harvard Law Review's critique. Another one of this site's most-read posts is “Headley Supporters Rally Round”, on the way Scientology's critics online pulled together to help them pay their massive legal costs.

8 “Charity laws change from Today”: January 1 report from ABC Australia. “What makes an organisation a charity and eligible for concessions on things like income tax is now formally defined in Australia for the first time under the Charities Act which comes into force today. But the law may be short-lived with the Abbott Government planning to abolish the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission and get the sector's views on the new legislation.”

18 comments:

Cheers to another five years Johnny. Fantastic journalism from you, Tony and Tobin and Childs is part of the bait with scientology watching....fortunately, unlike scientology, there is no switch after the bait....

Thanks for all your hard work. Not only the depth of the coverage of trials including the technical analysis of the trial evidence and the meticulous recounting (in English, for the French language trials) of verdicts but also the attention to the human cost of the crimes committed by the criminal organisation known as the "church" of $cientology.

And I'm looking forward to any further insightful reporting. (And what about that book?!?)

Happy Birthday, and thanks so much for listening all these years, especially all your work at the start of the exposure to the violence story and history in the top of the Sea Org.

I remember seeing that photo of you and Mark Fisher, I think Mark came to visit. To tell you face to face his firsthand experiences with the Sea Org violence from David Miscavige!

So important for that whole beginning stream of ex Int Base staff talking about Miscavige's violence, and it took years for that story to finally have enough cross corroborating first hand participants of that violence for the media to take the story. You were about the first journalist to hear their stories in many cases.

Normally I guess courts provide the under oath statements, and then media feels safe to tell the details.

Thanks particularly for listening to the whole violence story when it was just coming from the increasing number of ex Int Base staff who witnessed it!

Always can't thank you enough for just being there, doing all the coverage you did, interviewing of so many people, it helped build the foundation for the later huge news stories of 2000-2010 decade Jonny!

Thanks so much!

Chuck Beatty

I visited Jonny, here, in Paris, in 2007http://chuckbeatty77.webs.com/Jonny%20Jacobsen%20Paris%20May%2007.jpg

He's off at the New Civilization that his fans in another constellation are building for making powerful beings to improve the quality and quantity of the theta (thought) universe and free beings. Illuminated by fresh application of the TECH and operating in a benevolent business manner now that he and crew are at a free planet without suppressive, oppressive controls of criminals that run this planet and infiltrate his organizations creating chaos and stealing the income. He follows new policies, No Declares, as it's very bad PR to staff and public. Everyone is given the "L's" to get them more cause over their intentions, purposes and actions and able to understand others better, creating a true road to freedom in a loving manner. This was brought about by necessity as the local Chairman and CEO of the local star systems have provided the enormous wealth and means for his goals plus protection from suppression for his orgs. He and staff have only to make ethical products and enjoy their new lives. Many of his fans and staff have left here to join him and have no complaints. The rest of you can return to your moment of creation of viewpoint OR GO FREE! It's over now and there's only the clean-up crew evacuating the stellar intentioned helpful ones and leaving the rest behind to decide what they want to do. It's suppressive to follow suppressive orders you know- that was the test- most failed but the rest soar to Pan-Determinism as you read this. Admiral New Civilization evacuating the Loyal crew as they leave their bodies for HOME! Just ask.

You were breath of fresh air over hear... Being Half Scottish/AMerican, there is no term that I hate worse than 'Anglo-saxon' as we use it here in France.. Still, thank you for bringing an anglo-saxon sensibility to bear on the subject...

There are so many priceless stories here; your work stands on its own as part of the record of the toppling of Scientology. I thought I had read all your posts, and reviewing the best of the best showed me that I had missed an important story, about the Hendersons. My heart goes out to Mike, to all the victims of disconnection, and to Laura, of course. Thank you for your great work all these years. We will continue to catch you on the Bunker.

About the Author

Jonny Jacobsen is the author of the Infinite Complacency website tracking violence and abuse in Scientology and also contributes to Tony Ortega's Underground Bunker on the same subject.. He trained as a journalist in the late 1980s with the Birmingham Post and Mail group and spent several years freelancing in Scotland before moving to Paris in 1994, where he is still based. His first investigative piece on Scientology was in 1996 as a reporter/producer with Radio France International. You can reach him at jonnymcj(AT)hotmail.com.

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A Piece of Blue Sky

Click on the image to order the new edition of Jon Atack's definitive history of Hubbard-era Scientology. To learn more about the battle to get the original version published read "Atack Unchained" below.

For the Record

I approached Scientology several times to get their response to the allegations set out in the first section, "Violence and abuse in the Sea Org" regarding David Miscavige's violence and the abuse at the International Base: nothing so far.

Unless otherwise specified, all quotes come from interviews with the author.

Don't get me started: If you want to know why I write about Scientology, read this account published in Scotland's Sunday Herald on November 8, 2009. Since they never properly formatted it on their website I've also posted it here, in a slightly more readable form.

The Paris Trial: In answer to a question from a reader: these are my first-hand reports from the court, not a round-up of the French press coverage.